(Peru, Neb.) – After a close first half which found the Bobcats trailing by two, the Culver-Stockton Wildcats pulled away in the second half to take a 74-60 victory.
 
With the win, Culver-Stockton College (CSC) improved to 3-7 for the year and 1-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).  Peru State College (PSC) falls to 1-12 overall and 0-3 in the HAAC.
 
First Half Play
 
Peru State got onto the board first on a bucket by Andre Wells (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at the 19:19 mark in the first half.  About 90 seconds later, the Wildcats knotted it on a layup. 
 
The 'Cats regained the lead on a Richard Oppitz (Topeka, Kan.) lay-up, but CSC came right back hitting a three and led 5-4 with 16:39 remaining in the half.  Another Wildcat bucket gave them a 7-4 lead before Connor Smith (Lincoln) closed it to one at 7-6 on a layup.  Two by Oppitz followed another CSC bucket and PSC regained the lead at 10-9 on a Kevin Tighe (North Platte) layup with just over 15 minutes to go in the first stanza.
 
A three-pointer by Eric Donald (Omaha) gave PSC their largest lead of the first half at 13-9.  PSC continued to lead until CSC tied it at 17-17 with 9:31 left.  It was tied again at 19 before CSC went on top 21-19.  A three by Tighe gave PSC a one-point lead at 22-21 with 5:38 left in the half.  Another jumper by Donald gave PSC a three-point cushion at 24-21.
 
It was well over two minutes before either team would score again, but CSC tied the game on a three-pointer at 24-24 with 2:30 left.  Another Tighe trey put PSC up 27-24 with just under two minutes left in the half. 


CSC finished the half on a 5-0 run giving the Wildcats at 29-27 lead going into the intermission.
 
Both teams shot over 40% in the first half, as PSC was 12 of 28 for 42.9% while CSC was 12 of 30 for 40%.  Each team had three treys in the stanza with PSC making three of 12 for 25%, as CSC was three of eight for 37.5%.  Neither team was good at the line as PSC missed all three attempts and CSC made only two of seven for 28.6%.
 
Rebounding was dead even at 19.  PSC committed 12 turnovers while the Wildcats had nine.  The Bobcats blocked four shots in the first half and CSC swatted away one Bobcat try.
 
Second Half Play
 
PSC tied the game on a bucket by Wells at 29-29 as the first half started.  The Wildcats regained the lead with a three-pointer and then went up by five as they made two free throws to lead 34-29 with 18:18 left in the game. 
 
A Smith three made it 34-32 at the 18 minute mark.  The Wildcats scored the next five to go up by seven at 39-32 with 15:31 left.  Tighe hit a jumper cutting it to 39-34 on the Bobcats' next possession. 
 
The teams traded buckets before Wells put down a dunk with 13:27 left making it 41-38.  Following a free throw by CSC, Wells put in the first two charity tries made for PSC cutting it to a two-point deficit at 42-40 with 11:34 left.  CSC came back with five straight points to go ahead by seven at 47-40 forcing the 'Cats to take a timeout with just over ten minutes left in the game.
 
Following the PSC timeout, CSC hit a three giving them a ten-point lead, the largest of the game at 50-40.  A Bobcat turnover resulted in another bucket for CSC and the Wildcat player was fouled.  A good free throw made it 53-40 with just less than nine minutes to go.
 
After both teams missed buckets on their respective ends, Wells put down another dunk on a fast break cutting it to 53-42 with 8:21 remaining.  CSC got another bucket to go back up by 13.  Following missed shots by both teams, a Smith rebound led to a fast-break dunk again by Wells as PSC trailed 55-44 with 6:34 left.
 
Another 5-0 run gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 60-44 at the 5:15 mark.  On the next PSC possession, Wells took it to the hoop and was fouled.  After the free throw was converted, it was 60-47.  After a Wildcat turnover, Wells hit another layup, giving him 17 for the game, cutting it to an 11-point deficit at 60-49 with just under five minutes to go. 
 
A 5-1 run gave CSC a 65-50 lead with four minutes left.  Nearly 90 seconds ran off the clock before either team scored as Oppitz grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in.  A Wildcat bucket was countered by a layup by Jacob Schaben (Defiance, Iowa) making it 67-54 with 2:21 left in the game.
 
Peter Knudson (Vanloese, Denmark) hit two free throws with 2:12 left making it 67-56.  The teams traded buckets, keeping the margin at 69-58, before the Wildcats converted two free throws to extend their lead to 13. 
 
A Donald bucket cut it to 12 at 72-60 with 11 ticks left on the clock.  The Wildcats did score another bucket to make it 74-60 to win the game.
 
Team Statistics
 
The Wildcats finished the game hitting 44.4% of their field goals making 28 of 63 tries while PSC made 25 of 65 for 38.5%.  Culver-Stockton's three-point shooting improved in the second half as they finished game hitting eight of 19 for 42.1% and PSC made four of 19 for 21.1%.  Both teams shot poorly at the charity stripe as the Wildcats made ten of 20 for 50% and PSC hit only six of 14 for 42.9%.
 
Peru State did grab more rebound finishing with 43 compared to CSC's 42.  The 'Cats blocked six CSC tries while the Wildcats knocked four PSC shots away.  PSC had 19 turnovers compared to Culver-Stockton's 16. 

GAME BOX SCORE
 
Individual Statistics
 
Three Bobcats finished in double figures as Wells led PSC with a game-high 18 points on seven of 11 shooting and four of eight from the line. Wells was just one rebound shy of finishing with a double-double adding nine rebounds.  Wells did block three Wildcat shots and added two steals.
 
Oppitz did finish with a double-double as he had ten points and 12 rebounds – a game high.  Oppitz added one assist and one block.
 
Also finishing in double figures was Tighe finishing with ten points.  Tighe added four assists, two steals, and two rebounds.
 
KNCY Player of the Game
 
A breakout performance by Wells earned him the KNCY Player of the Game recognition.  While disappointed by the loss, Wells stated, “We came out with intensity, but it was not quite as strong in the second half as they came up with the points when they needed it.”  “I knew I needed to step it up as I had not played as well in the first part of the season, but I came to the realization that I need to play better and make a bigger contribution,” added Wells when asked about his best performance of the year.  “I came out in the second half with a little different motivation knowing that I needed to do my part to try to help get the win in the second half,” concluded Wells.
 
Coach Katen Comments
 
“This one hurt as it was one we felt we could get.  Our bigs made a good contribution tonight, but we missed a lot of easy things which could have made the game different in the second half,” said Bobcat head coach Troy Katen in his post-game interview.  “The HAAC has some very quick players and most teams have at least one big inside, so we have to be ready game-in and game-out in order to compete in each game,” continued Coach Katen. 
 
Katen added, “We did not do a good job point-guard wise in terms of keeping the game organized.  At the half, we discussed some of the changes we needed to make, but we did not execute.  At times, some guys just tried to do too much, which was not needed.”  “In the first half, we turned it over too much.  But, we had chances to blow it open; however, we gave them too many second opportunities with their offensive rebounds.”
 
In conclusion, Katen stated, “Our curse still came with us as the teams we have played have not shot as well in the first half, but then come out and shoot much better in the second half.  We will get some much-needed time off during finals, but we then we go up to play a NCAA Division I exhibition against the University of South Dakota.”
 
Upcoming Games
 
The next game for Peru State will be an exhibition contest when the Bobcats travel to Vermillion, S.D., to play the University of South Dakota on Dec. 21.  Another layoff follows before the 'Cats travel to Chicago, Ill., to take on Roosevelt University on Dec. 30.  Both games can be heard on KNCY 103.1 or by clicking on the live audio link on the men's schedule on the PSC website.